


of rain and moon

by reefofhappiness



Category: Free!
Genre: Gen, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-11
Updated: 2014-05-11
Packaged: 2018-01-24 07:21:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1596404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reefofhappiness/pseuds/reefofhappiness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It certainly is <i>some</i> kind of experience that forges this friendship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	of rain and moon

**Author's Note:**

> Title from East Asian literary devices, namely that the rain and moon (more specifically a rainy night and/or a morning moon) supposedly foretell the ‘coming of supernatural beings’. This originally was going to be a ‘Halloween themed’ Free! fic, and then things sort of spiraled out of control. Only a minority of the kids ended up being ‘Halloween themed’ monsters and everyone else is from Japanese-specific folklore (which is actually plenty appropriate, to be honest).
> 
> This was going to be an exercise in conciseness, but I’m _also_ trying something new out with segmented writing, so… *stares forlornly at the word count* I also am horrible in this story with differentiating between oni and yokai, which is really…bad of me. But…just…don’t worry about it? 
> 
> A definite regret I have is my lack of Chigusa in this story. If I were to change anything it would be figuring out a way to include her, but by the time this story got well underway…well, plot entanglements and all that. Kou and Chigusa hung out off-screen though!
> 
> Also I really should read this one more time for edits, but I’m not going to because I’m tired of staring at it and end of term work will ensure that this doesn’t see the light of day until mid to late June if I don’t post it now. I apologize beforehand for any mistakes, and if I forgot/mixed up honorifics anywhere (though the honorifics they use change slightly throughout the story since it takes place from January to June)…or even mixed up Rin and Rei or Nagisa and Nitori’s names at any point in time (because I’m often writing half asleep/late at night and first letter brain associations are my weakness sometimes)…I'm truly sorry about it.  
> ETA: By this point I've *probably* fixed all occurrences of the above, but better safe than sorry.
> 
> Also the end notes on this thing are really really long (as in excuse my using '&' instead of 'and' because of character limits, that's how long it is). That deserves a warning, I think. If you have any questions about powers or behind the scenes crap (or oh I dunno, maybe what precisely was happening during that scene when Rei was playing dead haha OTL) feel free to ask literally anything. I had fun planning things with each character segment, so I have loads of notes about a lot of things in this story.
> 
> Okay so that’s one thing out of the way! Fingers crossed that I can bang out that body-switching fic before season 2 starts and all the current characterization/character development goes out the window with the *~new character arcs~* and stuff.  
> ETA: Clearly...the aforementioned did not happen, haha oops.

Kou wakes up to her cellphone ringing from inside her mini safe. She blinks groggily and knows that the full moon has only waned just enough for her to shift back, because she feels new and fresh and raw. Usually right after a transformation she doesn’t even wake up enough to remember the early early morning, but that phone is beating a tattoo inside her head.

She takes a moment to breathe, and flexes her toes and fingers. Fresh and new and raw – and her stomach feels heavy as she pushes herself up off the floor. Kou doesn’t want to move, but she knows Mom has work in the morning, and to let the phone ring and wake up her mother would be too unsympathetic a thing for Kou to do. The mini safe has all of the valuables Kou is afraid the wolf might tear into, and balanced on top of these piles of jewelry and mementos (and tomorrow’s physics’ homework, folded into a little square to force it to fit) is her phone. Kou sinks into her carpet, naked and seriously _raw_ , and answers tiredly.

“Onii-chan,” she sighs out, too weak to do much else. “Why are you calling me at four thirty in the morning?”

“Help,” her ridiculous older brother says mournfully. There is an edge of panic hiding in his words too. “I think I mauled someone – he might be dead? Or changing, I don’t know – _help_.”

Kou freezes and blinks. The wolf in her scents the air in attempt to understand – no really, she just changed back, she’s not. Not functioning one hundred percent with human reasoning and understanding, and Rin’s words slide sluggishly over her brain as she grasps at their meaning. “Wait – I just changed back maybe five minutes ago, I’m still coming down from the transformation, what – “

“I think I got out,” Rin grinds out from between clenched teeth. “I – I usually lock myself in in an empty toolshed behind the club building, but I – I think the lock was broken and I didn’t have time to fix it by the time I noticed it, ‘cause I was changing – “

About twenty emotions rush through Kou’s entire body at once, and the one she settles on is exasperation. “Honestly, this is why you should _come home_ on full moons, you know being with a pack would – “

“I do _not_ need lectures about proper werewolf etiquette right now Kou!” Rin’s voice is cracking, and while that is mostly because he’s just turned back, there is a hint of panic laced in his words.

“Okay,” she says quietly, thoughts still scattered and some still wolfy (honestly though, if Rin would just come home sometimes…neither of them would be having this problem of sinking back into their human skin and mind so slowly). She tries to keep her wits, because someone in this situation has to. “Okay, you aren’t in the open right now, are you?”

“Uhhh…”

Kou resists the urge to groan. “Oh my god, get off the main roads, you dummy! Head towards, um.” She tries to think fast through their options. “Towards Haru-senpai’s place. Using backroads,” should she even have to say that? God. “I’ll meet you on the way.”

Rin scoffs, and Kou can’t help but think that he is awfully combative for a person who is potentially toting around a dead body. “Why _Haru’s_?”

Kou balances the phone between her shoulder and ear while she stands to find clothes to throw on. Her red tracksuit sweats are clean, she remembers, and goes to dig them out of her dresser. “Because you for sure can’t bring it here? Mom will – ” Kou pauses and realizes Mom might not be in deep enough post-transformation sleep to not pick up her children conspiring against her. They need to be more careful, she realizes, and Kou drops her voice to a fierce whisper. “Look, do you want her to make you move back home and commute to your stupid boarding school?”

Rin doesn’t answer for a long moment, before finally ( _petulantly_ ) spitting out, “…No.”

Kou struggles to keep the phone to her ear while getting on her underwear and pants on. “Right, well if you bring it here she’ll sniff it out no problem, and this is reason number one she barely wanted you to go to boarding school.”

“What about Nagisa’s?” Rin protests still. “Why Haru’s?”

Kou scowls over the line. “ _No_. Nagisa's place, really? What next, you’re going to suggest we take it to Makoto-senpai’s house and wake up and scare the twins with a bloody and mauled body?”

Rin groans, sounding exasperated himself. “No, I – I don’t know why I even suggested that. You’re right. Haru’s house is empty and the best bet.” He sighs, long and loud, and Kou thinks that before he was just being contrary for the sake of it. “I’ll start moving onto the less public running trails. See you in a bit, and text me when you’ve hit the woods. I’ll listen for you.”

And Kou realizes – even if she can’t hear his heartbeat over the phone to confirm while he tries to keep his voice level, she can tell he’s a little scared. She is too, they’ve never – never dealt with this kind of thing before. “Hey, don’t worry,” she says right before he hangs up. “We’ll figure this out.”

The noise he makes before hanging up is almost a laugh and mostly a scoff, but he sounds grateful. Kou throws her phone down and hurries to finish pulling on a shirt, then her jacket, and grabs her coat on her way out the door.

 

+++

 

She calls Haru once she sneaks out of the house, though she is fully prepared to have to incur the collateral damage of calling and waking up Makoto to have him go wake up Haru and convey the message. Somehow, though, Haru both has his phone on and near enough to his bed to hear it and pick it up. It’s a miracle, really.

“Hello?” Haru greets flatly, probably half asleep. “Why are you calling me at this hour?”

“Haru-senpai,” she says, still whispering because she hasn’t made the block yet and seriously, Mom _might_ be doing that ‘I’ll let you do the thing you’re doing so I can punish you later for thinking you could hide something from me’ tactic she sometimes likes, and Kou is really trying to avoid that. “Rin’s made a mess of something and uh, it’s kind of an emergency. We’re coming to your house, but it might take us an hour to get there. Is that okay?”

Haru is silent for a moment, like he’s processing everything that she’s not saying (the vagueness implies it’s wolf-related, he knows, because none of them like to be too openly explicit about these kinds of things – especially over the phone – if they can help it) and the fact that they’ve just had a full moon. He’s probably putting the pieces together pretty easily. “…Should I call Makoto? And Nagisa?”

Kou grimaces because uh, _probably_? But at the same time Rin is probably trying to keep this as low-key as possible, so… “I’m not sure,” she admits. “ _I_ maybe would – it seems kind of bad – but you know my brother…”

Haru pauses in this way that has Kou thinking it’s his equivalence of a scoff. “Okay. I’m calling them. See you in an hour, maybe.”

Kou can’t help but smile at how her brother’s friends tend to _handle_ him. It’s kind of funny, sometimes. “Well…alright then.”

“Okay. Then I’m hanging up now,” Haru is nice enough to tell her, his way of being polite, and then he promptly does so. Her smile widens a little at that, because it’s just so typical Haru, even in the face of an emergency.

Kou feels a little better herself now, knowing that seriously, they’re going to work _something_ out, somehow, between the five of them. She tucks her phone in her pocket, slips into the woods, and takes off running while listening for her brother’s familiar heartbeat.

 

+++

 

When the two of them finally meet up, they make small talk while dragging the body through the woods. Kou has half a mind to laugh at how utterly messed up and creepy this should feel (but doesn’t – mainly because _they’re_ the things that go bump in the night).

“How has the transformation been on your own?” Kou asks. “I mean. Other than this particular instance where you got out.” She looks down at the poor kid who had been caught unaware by her older brother. He’s pretty built and obviously a quite avid runner, something that has been made obvious by the fact that he had been out running late enough at night to get a sizeable chunk bit out of him by a werewolf.

Rin only shrugs, grunting as they maneuver the boy over a fallen tree, his breath little white puffs in the winter air. The cover of trees is a temporary relief, because Haru’s place isn’t close enough to the woods to avoid walking down some main streets. But it’s _really late_ , and once they hit the streets Kou plans to run ahead and scout for people while Rin carefully follows behind her with their potential-corpse-potential-new-werewolf. 

But for now they have the safety of dense woods to take comfort in. It shows in how Rin opens up to her in a way he hasn’t lately over text and email and the occasional video chat. “I dunno, okay I guess? Clearly it’s been more intense: I wake up and there’s like…claw marks all over everything. And geez, my _corpse_.”

Kou blinks, startled. “What, there’s leftovers?” She’s never had to look at her shed skin before, her lifeless old body, because the wolf eats all of that. She would have thought that would be more of a sure thing with a wilder, lone transformation.

Rin squints, frowns, tries to recall memories from the wolf. “I…think because it’s wilder, it’s less focused and more frantic…it really wants to get out, and focuses of trying to tear the walls down.”

Kou’s grip on the bloody boy between them tightens: he is proof of what happens when it does get out. “Maybe you _should_ be coming home, then. It sounds like you’re kind of lucky that this is the first time.”

Rin squints harder and cocks his head to the side. “I don’t know though…sometimes full moons aren’t bad – I mean, actually even better than the three of us were together at home. I’m not sure why though, but I think my roommate did something?”

Kou has heard about this roommate, who seems to be eager to please, and kind of interesting; a very excitable first year whose heart is in the right place. Rin has never mentioned him being _something_ though. “What,” she prods, interested. “What could he even be doing? What is he?”

Rin grunts again, as the terrain starts to turn hilly – the main street is up ahead, and they’ll have to part ways soon to safely make this trip. “I don’t know,” Rin says once he regains his sure footing. “We don’t talk about that – I mean. I can’t just…bring it up. What if I’m wrong?”

Kou nods as solemnly as she can manage while trying not to trip up the rocky slope. “No I get it. Why do you think he’s doing something?”

“Well, first off the past couple of full moons have been way too smooth for something not to be up. And I think he’s noticed a pattern of when I go out for ‘evening runs’ and stay out all night – I’ve been trying to mix it up to throw him off but…”

Kou nods again in understanding. Yeah, it’s hard to throw someone off the trail once they’ve begun to notice.

“And…I don’t know, he doesn’t do anything weird when I’m setting up to leave, but I still feel like he’s…I don’t know. Enchanting me or something.”

Kou quirks an eyebrow. “Enchanting you? What does he blow powder in your face? Say a magic incantation?”

Rin laughs at that. “Naw. He just wishes me luck on my runtimes or says goodnight or whatever. Normal stuff.”

Kou hums thoughtfully. “Hm, we could ask Nagisa about it, I guess? Though honestly, _this_ whole thing probably proves he’s not doing anything.”

“Well, but – ” Rin starts, as if to disagree.

Kou levels his words with a well-placed glare. “I mean, you did get out and rip into someone this time, after all.” The words sound a little more grotesque than she honestly means for them to.

Rin, to his credit, only winces a little. “Man, I hope he’s okay,” he murmurs, tone laced with regret.

Kou looks back at the boy’s limp body – his wounds now seem less severe, or something: he had apparently already stopped bleeding by the time Rin came to, and by the time she had met up with him, the gashes and wounds had seemed less gaping and new. Kou’s never seen a dead body before, so she doesn’t know if that’s normal and some type of rigor mortis setting in, but she’s hoping it’s the signs of werewolf super healing kicking in. He still has no heartbeat, but…

“Anyway,” she says, changing the subject. “If your roommate's not a, I don’t know, a shaman or enchanter or something, maybe there are other secret wolves at your school, and you all are just affecting each other?”

Rin rolls his eyes at her. “What, and they all just left at the same time so this full moon sucked for me?”

Kou rolls her eyes right back. “Well _maybe_ they all went home for the full moon like smart little pups should do.”

He sticks his tongue out at her, and she sticks hers out back at him – and if it weren’t for the body coated with crusted drying blood between them, this reunion might have been like any other for them.

It still isn’t half bad, honestly.

 

///

 

When Rei comes to consciousness he’s sore all over, but in the strange way that almost feels like his body’s knitting itself back together – like the dull ache under an old scab. Just…that all over.

A tiny but distorted thought ripples through his mind, _Haven’t felt like this in a while_ , followed by his own logic of _Well yes, because I haven’t been seriously injured in a while_. And somewhere deep down in his soul something flares briefly before quieting and fitting neatly back into place like it’s supposed to. He’s not in immediate danger, then.

“Wait, so do you actually not _know_ how long it’ll take until we know if he’s changing or dead?” An incredulous voice hisses from somewhere above him. Rei has enough common sense, upon hearing those words, to play dead (and that tiny voice whispers the same advice to him, soothes to him that he can do it, that it’ll help, and that flaring is back, rippling among his heart and lungs). Which is by no means difficult, because he’s already on his back and his eyes are still shut…but uh, what is going on here, exactly?

“Hey,” an annoyed, gruff sounding voice says next. “I’ve been abroad and junk. Ask the one who’s been living at home with our mom.”

Another voice – a feminine one this time, yelps in response. “Hey! Why would we ever have that conversation? If you had been as responsible as you were _supposed_ to be, and just came home every now and then – ”

“So…he could be dead?” This person’s tone is rather sincere and calm and completely are at odds with the words they are saying. Rei cannot figure out if all these people, whoever they are, are some kind of supernatural cult or secret mass murderers or _what_ , but he focuses more intently on playing dead. His best bet is looking to be sneaking out when they aren’t hovering over him.

(Focus on keeping your heartbeat and breathing slow, Rei reminds himself, he has to maintain the appearance of being _near dead_ –)

“If he starts stinking I’m kicking him out,” a quiet, monotone voice says with a distinct lack of concern, and if Rei wasn’t trying to be dead, he’d shiver.

The next voice, the incredulous one Rei woke up to, is softer this time. “Don’t say that…”

“Well,” the feminine voice says, faltering and hesitant. “I mean, by the end of the day…we should know for sure.”

“I _think_ if anyone sees rigor mortis we can…hedge our bets on dead, yeah,” the gruff voice says, also hesitant now.

“I dunno, it could be part of the process?” The sincere voice offers, sounding…bubbly? Rei re-centers his focus to avoid the urge to take in a nervous gulp of air.

Both the gruff voice and feminine voice make humming noises. “Honestly though…” The feminine voice puts forward dubiously.

“I know we don’t _talk_ about what happens to our bodies, but trust me when I say people probably die more than are changed.”

The relatively calm, soothing voiced person yelps slightly. “Wh – it’s that brutal?”

“Ah sorry!” Both the gruff and feminine voice cry out in unison, and Rei wonders what happened – or if maybe the mostly calm person is easily startled by insinuation.

“Wellll,” comes that strangely excited voice – though honestly, now that Rei keeps hearing it, they sound slightly familiar. “If it turns out he _is_ dead, you guys are going to have to…you know…”

There is a moment of silence, and the person speaking, this cheery individual, must make some kind of movement or face or _something_ , because the next moment there is horrified gasping.

“What is _wrong_ with you?” the gruff voiced person hisses out.

“It’s true though!” This incredibly sincere person replies immediately, not at all defensive and instead voice still lilting upwards as if in amusement. “What else can you do with a dead body without getting caught with it, and opening up _that_ can of worms?” There is still an uneasy silence, and the cheery person sighs, before offering gently, “Look, if you guys can’t get the job done I could always just get my family to do it – we’ve handled that kind of thing before – but. You know.”

There is another long suffering sigh, before the feminine voice says, “No we know – and we would definitely like to avoid making deals with the devil, thank you.”

The bubbly voiced person laughs, now sounding completely and unabashedly amused. “You all are the _worst_ , stop saying those kinds of things.”

And the thing here is that Rei seriously can’t remember anything past going out for his evening run last night. He has no idea how he ended up in what apparently is this outrageous and potentially dangerous situation – and if he hadn’t been playing dead, he might have given a long suffering sigh of his own about his absolute worst luck.

 

+++

 

When the others finally leave and quiet has filled the room for a good ten minutes, Rei finally lets his heart and breathing spike, his soul settle, and he carefully cracks an eye open. No one seems to be around, so he slowly begins to sit up, just in case a door or something is open and his sudden movement may catch someone’s eyes.

“Ah, I thought you were alive!”

It’s that bubbly sincerity that’s had Rei confused and slightly frightened. He can’t help how his head whips towards the voice, and over in the corner sitting on the windowsill is a small blond haired boy. 

“Argh!” Rei says intelligibly, not sure what else to do. After a moment he tries baring his teeth menacingly. The little voice in the back of his head whispers something Rei can’t quite discern – maybe that this is pointless? That something’s…different about this boy. But Rei tries, regardless.

The boy doesn’t flinch from where he is perched, though he does tilt his head in inquiry. “Ah…your teeth…?”

The play at appearing tough and scaring the boy off doesn’t work, as the next moment he’s grinning and leaping off the windowsill. “I _thought_ so!” The boy is saying sidling right up next to Rei. Rei tries to scramble to his feet, scoot away, _something_ , and in his jostling Rei’s bottom lip catches against his still barred teeth. It catches, and the canine is sharp and cuts him, the taste of blood blooming against his tongue.

“Wha – ” Rei tries to say anyway. “Thought _what_?!”

The boy’s eyes are bright and wide and piercing and staring _through_ Rei, as he leans in carefully and sniffs at Rei’s arm. “Yeah, nope, _totally_. _And_ I can see it. That makes so much sense.”

Rei finally gets his bearings enough to get to his feet, and clears a good ten feet between him and this weird little stranger. “Have you all abducted me? I won’t stand for this, I – ”

The boy smiles wider. “No no, look – I’m Nagisa. And your student ID said you were Ryuugazaki Rei – I’m gonna just call you Rei-chan, okay – and it’s all _totally fine_ , I promise, you’re one of us.”

Rei’s mind is reeling – who does this Nagisa think he is, no he cannot call Rei by his first name like they’re old friends, what is even going on – and he splutters meaninglessly before settling on, “One of you?” 

One of – they _have_ to be messing with him.

Nagisa’s smile is bordering on frightening, he seems so pleased with himself. “Hey Rin-chan!” Nagisa essentially _shouts_ at the top of his lungs, startling Rei into jumping and this time cutting his tongue on his too-sharp teeth. “Good news, you didn’t murder someone!”

Rei’s too busy cupping a hand under his mouth to catch the blood while un-baring his teeth (he feels them sort of…click and retract back into place, go back to normal human bluntness) to say anything else – especially about the way another boy, red haired and wild eyed, nearly immediately bursts into the room.

“Oh thank god,” the red haired boy – Rin? – breathes out, “Okay kid, so there’s some things I have to explain to you and I’m _really_ sorry about it, okay?”

And Rei just spits out a mouthful of blood, finally resigned to whatever it is this situation is shaping up to be.

 

+++

 

“I assure you,” Rei says as he tries to push his way past a boy who has been introduced to him as Makoto. “I am in no way a _werewolf_.”

“Well you sure aren’t _dead_ either,” the Rin boy from earlier growls out. “So that doesn’t leave much room for your denial.”

“Everyone just calm down, now,” Makoto says as he continues to just stand in Rei’s way, blocking the doorway in this sort of passive way without having to lay a hand on Rei. “Please, Ryuugazaki-san just…listen.”

“I don’t know any of you!” Rei exclaims, perhaps a bit wildly. They are all but telling him he is in a den of werewolves – out of control werewolves at that, clearly, since one of them attacked him. Not that Rei really remembers that part of his night. And not that he really has any proof that they really are werewolves and not some sort of…deranged group of violent teenagers who got the jump on him last night and now are trying to convince him he’s “one of them” to further string him along or something. He doesn’t trust them.

“Actually,” Nagisa says offhandedly. “I’m in your homeroom with you. I just, you know. Sit in the back. Or sleep through class. Or skip sometimes?”

Which explains why he sounds familiar, but like hell Rei is going to listen to a delinquent supposed-werewolf.

“So we’re not all werewolves,” Makoto opens with carefully. “And this was a very rare accident, so no need to worry about your wellbeing – ”

“I am not a werewolf, and I’d like it very much if you would let me leave!” Rei repeats with firm urgency. He tries to convince them they don’t have him pinned and says, a little more forcefully, “Me, a supernatural being? _Ha_!”

Makoto looks conflicted and slightly wounded, which does make something in Rei’s resolve falter a little. But then the one who had been introduced as Haru shrugs and says to Makoto, “Let him. He doesn’t want to be here, anyway.”

“You totally messed up your mouth with your teeth when you freaked out,” Rin points out, and his tone is a bit desperate and yet still annoyed, somehow.

“And it’s almost done healing already,” the lone girl, Kou (or perhaps Gou? her and Nagisa had an argument when he introduced her, and Rei didn’t really get it sorted out which was correct). “That’s, um. Indicative of some things.”

Rei splutters some more, inelegantly, unfortunately. These people are strangers, and they don’t know – or need to know – anything about him. They’re probably _messing_ with him, trying to convince him they’re creatures of the supernatural or of the night or whatever so he says something stupid and then they lord it over him for the rest of his high school career. No thank you, no way.

He finally manages, more adamantly that before, with so much conviction Rei trembles with it, “That’s none of your concern! I’m leaving!”

To their credit, they don’t stop him this time – and that, of all things, endears them a little to him. 

Rei shakes such thoughts from him mind as he runs down the street, skin and bones aching a little as he blinks furiously into the sunlight. He focuses instead on the chill of late winter and how his parents and brother are probably worried sick, since he’s been out since last night. It’s been a hectic couple of hours ( _werewolf_ his brain spits back at him, skeptically, laughingly, _how wrong they are_ that little voice murmurs), and he’s not even sure how he’s going to start to explain to them what he’s just been through.

 

///

 

Rin knows skipping out on swim club is unheard of, but honestly he’s only going to miss the first half – and running all the way to the train stops going to and coming back from Iwatobi High School should warm him up enough to jump right into the first or second sets of stamina drills, hopefully. This is just. Really important.

“Seriously, you have to listen to me,” Rin says in a voice he hopes is cool and collected. He hasn’t been getting anywhere with the whole pleading thing – because apparently this Rei kid doesn’t care about potentially turning into a giant wolf creature and losing control and killing his family in like two and a half weeks. And Rin, in the previous weeks, _had_ been keeping his distance while hedging his bets on Rei coming to him – or Kou – eventually, once the idea of the supernatural had settled better with him, maybe at least with questions about the sudden heightened sense of smell and now being able to see perfectly in the dark. But Rei has been keeping a perfectly wide berth of their lot at school, according to Kou, and has seemed to be handling any and all new senses with ease, or at least very masterful stoicism.

(Nagisa’s been approaching him on his own, apparently, and that…might explain some things, Rin thinks. He’s not so sure why the others are really even letting Nagisa loose on the poor kid, especially Makoto who should at least _know_ more specifically than the others with what intentions Nagisa’s approaching him with. …But then again, it’s probably more that they can’t _stop_ Nagisa from doing whatever he wants, so. Oh well.)

Rei just levels Rin with a glare, and he’s got track clothes on – at least someone in this situation is going to make it to their club on time, Rin thinks offhandedly. “What are you even doing here?” Rei asks flatly, visibly annoyed. And it pisses Rin off a little, how _dumb_ this kid is being.

“Look,” Rin shoots back, just as annoyed. “Denial isn’t going to stop you from transforming during a full moon, now is it? There’s a lot of _stuff_ you need to know.”

Rei doesn’t even say anything this time, just looks at Rin with this immense level of distaste and then turns and walks out of the general locker room.

Rin splutters and rushes outside after him, but by the time Rin gets out there Rei must have taken off, because he’s nowhere to be seen.

Rin scoffs, “Figures…!” The sharp inhale he takes makes him realize the air smells bitter, the same sort of acrid of dark magic Rin gets a noseful of whenever he’s at Nagisa’s place – and Rin wonders if Nagisa’s lurking somewhere nearby instead of being at swim practice (or wherever it is their team practices in winter) like he _should_ be.

Like _Rin_ should be – god, this turned out to be such a waste of time.

 

+++

 

Rin, in his typical do-or-die attitude, doesn’t give up. Because if Rei ends up murdering everyone within a fifty mile radius of him come the full moon, it’ll be all Rin’s fault. So Rin comes by after school every day ( _god_ the captain is going to kill him) and tries to sneak tidbits of information to Rei against his will in the small time allotted to him from Rei’s homeroom to Rei’s locker. Rin wants to help, but he also doesn’t want to be a creep and follow Rei to his sports club. (And he absolutely draws the line at finding out where Rei lives and accosting him there, as Nagisa so helpfully suggested while tagging along on one of Rin’s campaigns one of the days he actually stayed in class the whole day.)

“The wolf isn’t actually a wolf,” Rin says one day while Rei ignores him with something like fierce dedication. “Its limbs are longer than one and it’s bulkier and honestly it probably looks kind of awkward, but it runs faster and has bigger teeth than a normal wolf.”

“Did you know transformations are less vicious when you’re with other werewolves?” Rin points out lightly while Rei shoves the books he doesn’t need in his locker, and Nagisa smirks in the background at the whole situation. “So, you know. Even if you’re not convinced where all the weird super strength and stuff is coming from you can still totally hang out with me and Kou this next full moon, just in case.”

Rei just glares. “Aren’t you hilarious,” he deadpans, before whirling around and leaving without another word.

“I don’t know why you find this so freaking _funny_ ,” Rin hisses at Nagisa before storming off after the probably tenth failed attempt to get Rei to come around.

So the kid won’t listen to reason and he won’t come to anyone for help – Rin’s completely out of options, and they’ve only got a week until the full moon.

So he uh, well first of all completely skips swim practice, which is so incredibly bad on top of all the late attendances he’s had lately that he can’t even begin to fathom the punishment the coach and captain are going to rain down upon his head. And then he stakes out the school exit. He’d try and be more subtle, at the very least to avoid his friends from seeing him, but it’s kind of pointless when Kou, Makoto, and Nagisa will definitely know he’s been here regardless of whether they see him or not.

Luckily for Rin, Rei leaves the school before all of them, and Rin moves into action.

“Wha – _you_ – !” Rei says the moment he lays eyes on Rin.

“Listen,” Rin whispers fiercely, as he gets right up in Rei’s face to cut him off. “I don’t want to scare you, but you’re going to freak the hell out when you wake up from full blown transforming the first time and you’re picking pieces of your own _flesh and viscera_ out of your teeth.”

Rei looks startled and stares wide eyed at him. Rin presses onward, because no matter how much he hates scare tactics they seem to be working best right now. “Yeah. You don’t – it’s not like the movies, the wolf is like part of your _soul_ and your body just houses it – and then the wolf sheds your skin – human organs and bones and all – and likes to _eat_ it. For sustenance. You know, right before you run wild and kill a bunch of people for fucking _fun_.”

Rei’s paling and looking scared and angry all at once, and Rin feels really bad. Seriously. But this is important –

“Oh my _god_ ,” comes Kou’s voice from beyond the school gate, sounding as horrified as Rei’s looking right about now. “Way to make us sound like complete monsters!”

Rin blinks and pulls back from Rei’s face and – Kou’s just come out of the school with the others, but she’s overheard him. “But it’s true!” He calls back to her, but maybe she’s right about him taking it a little too far and making it all sound like this uncontrollable curse, when really you just have to learn to live with it in the right way. So he turns back to Rei and in a quieter, lighter voice says, “But the good news is being in a pack tames that, and there’s measures to you can take to calm the wolf, so – ”

“I! Am! Not! A werewolf!” Rei hisses out, looking like he might be sick. This time, Rin doesn’t get the sense of desperate denial from him. Instead there is such conviction – like _genuine conviction_ – that it makes Rin stop and look at him. And Rin notices the Iwatobi swim club jacket he’s wearing over his running clothes, the scent of Rei’s sweat clinging on it. Clearly Rei has been running drills in it. And then considering that the rest of his friends, trailing behind Kou, also smell of sweat and the metal blend of weights, and the fact that Iwatobi doesn’t have an indoor pool…

“…Wait, you’re in the swim club now?” Is literally the first thing out of Rin’s mouth, as the others catch up to them at the gate. This is probably not what he should be focusing on, and yet…

“He quit track, like, a week ago,” Nagisa supplies helpfully – _now_ – while pulling Rei out of Rin’s personal bubble completely, and patting him on the back comfortingly. “Why do you think I follow Rei-chan after school?” 

Rin had thought Nagisa had been following _him_ , for the entertainment value. Rin chooses not to say anything about this, which means his previous assumptions are probably easy for them to guess. Makoto, who now knows exactly what it was Rin had thought, is kind enough to bite down on the small smile threatening to curl up the edges of his mouth.

Nagisa pulls a face, like Rin’s acting so ridiculous right now, like _he’s_ the one out of line here. “Rei-chan is totally part of our friend circle now, because I’m a miracle worker and convinced him we all actually _are_ freaks of nature too, and aren’t just trying to have a laugh at him. Geez, Rin-chan catch up.”

Rin rounds on him, “You – !” Let me make a fool of myself, knew I was way off base with _everything_ , are such a piece of shit – Rin cannot even settle on what it is he wants to say to Nagisa. Instead he turns to Kou. “Why didn’t you tell me he’d accepted your help?”

Kou frowns at him in a way that lets him know that, no, he is _really_ off base here. “Um, because he didn’t? I think Nagisa convinced him we weren’t making fun of him and to try us out on a trial run or something for the past week, because…well…and he just told us today, actually…”

“Rin,” Makoto says calmly, and Rin can just _tell_ Haru is inwardly rolling his eyes at this whole situation even as he stands by Makoto’s side and doesn’t say a word or move a muscle, face mostly tucked in his scarf. “Ryuugazaki-kun is a vampire.”

“We didn’t know you were acting so brashly without anyone supervising you, though,” Haru mumbles offhandedly, into his scarf, and this time he outwardly rolls his eyes.

Rin bristles and points viciously at Haru, because god Haru can just – just shut up and stop being incredulous in that quiet way of his. “Hey! That’s not my fault! I didn’t want to let my mess up ruin his life, and no one told me he’d – I. I didn’t know!”

“I – I apologize for not – I kept _telling you_ I wasn’t a werewolf, though?” Rei offers weakly. “And, and Nagisa-kun was there so I didn’t think I needed to tell the others you were persisting in following me and – and Nagisa-kun said it was just ‘your way’ and – and I only told them today that I’m…” Rei is stumbling on his words, still looking queasy and now like he’s panicking a little, his previously cold demeanor completely stripped away. Rin really does feel bad now. Honestly this is all Nagisa’s fault, for his stupid lies in omission and tiny little manipulations.

“No – I – sorry about scaring you, I should have checked with the others about how you were doing instead of…doing what I did.” Rin says apologetically, right before shooting a glare at Nagisa. “And you should have said something instead of watching everyone squirm! You knew before the rest of us, _obviously_.”

Nagisa nods solemnly. “That’s true. I mean, right from the get go I _could_ see the demon housed in Rei-chan’s soul, so…”

Rei looks startled and Rin groans furiously. “Oh my god, Nagisa, screw you!”

Rin wishes he could say this whole situation wasn’t absolutely typical of their ‘friend circle’, as Nagisa’s put it, and more generally his life – but honestly it completely totally is. Rin’s learned to mostly roll with the punches, along the way.

 

///

 

Nitori keeps pulling him aside and telling him that something’s up with Matsuoka, and Seijuurou feels bad about having to keep telling him that there’s not much he or the coach can do about Matsuoka being vaguely ‘upset about something’ if it’s not affecting his swimming performance. Honestly Seijuurou isn’t sure how Nitori can differentiate between Matsuoka’s pissy resting face and his genuinely being upset, but Seijuurou gets the whole feeling like something’s up with the kid – what with Matsuoka always seemingly slinking around the campus and pulling weird disappearing acts and sometimes knowing things he shouldn’t (like that time Seijuurou broke up with his now-ex-girlfriend via Skype and Matsuoka showed up at his door a few hours later with a pint of his favorite flavor of ice cream and the newest edition of _Monthly Muscle Magazine_ from the convenience store a train stop away, and just handed the plastic bag over without a word and went back to his own room).

The point here is that Seijuurou lives across the hall and only catches glimpses of Matsuoka’s behavior, and _still_ gets that feeling of something being perpetually up with Matsuoka _all the time_. So Seijuurou has a bit of an idea of how much it must resonate with Nitori as a roommate. But the other point here is that the last time Matsuoka actively pulled a stunt was nearly two months ago, when he skipped swim practice for over a week, and by now he’s more than made up for that time. So Seijuurou has no grounds to force Matsuoka to talk about his issues.

All Seijuurou can do is occasionally pull Matsuoka aside and tell him to cheer up, or let him know that the team is all there as a support system if he ever needs help… _or_ to just tell him to be a better roommate and upperclassman and hang out with Nitori more often. He doesn’t know if his advice, his roundabout ways to try and get Matsuoka to open up to getting new friends and stop being so weirdly standoffish (because maybe he’s lonely and potentially homesick?), are working – but it’s all Seijuurou has to offer.

The skin rash though…well. The skin rash, Nitori noticed and mentioned too. Much earlier. Like a month and a half ago. But the thing is, it wasn’t _that_ noticeable a month and a half ago, could have been anything – and when it stopped looking like the occasional red scratch streaked along Matsuoka’s chest, when it started to look like irritated red patches and Seijuurou _did_ ask about it, Matsuoka just regarded him with wary surprise and ran a careful finger over the rashy skin while giving a non-committal grunt.

“Matsuoka,” Seijuurou says tiredly. “If this is some kind of medical concern, there really isn’t any point in hiding it – “

“I’m not hiding anything!” Matsuoka says, bristling suddenly. He’s sometimes so…prickly, Seijuurou thinks dryly to himself, completely at odds with the hidden softness he offers up every now and again. “Check my file, I’m _fine_. It’s probably something I ate – or a sunburn. I’m fine.”

Seijuurou has checked his file, and there isn’t anything in there about eczema or allergies. But Seijuurou has a sister who suddenly couldn’t eat seafood anymore after hitting fourteen, so that doesn’t mean anything.

(“He hasn’t changed his eating habits in the past two months, though?” Nitori tells him, though, thoughtful and concerned. “We eat most of our meals together, and anyway…I don’t think…that makes much sense. For that to be from a food allergy.” And Seijuurou is inclined to agree with him.)

It also doesn’t look like sunburn. And a sunburn? This early on in April? The spring has really only just gotten underway, and though it’s been solidly warm for weeks now, the sun isn’t all that strong yet. At any rate, Matsuoka’s never sunburned before, with all his careful preparations of sunblock and self-regimented extra outdoors stamina training, so that excuse doesn’t seem to fly either. 

Seijuurou’s no doctor – he’s not even on the math and science coursetrack when it comes to school – but these signs point towards _something_. So eventually, Seijuurou checks something else in Matsuoka’s file.

“Hello?” A female voice, light and chipper, answers when he calls Matsuoka’s home number.

Seijuurou clears his throat and tries to sound as professional as possible. It’s his first time making a house call as a captain concerned about the wellbeing of one of his members, because usually this responsibility falls in the coach’s realm of duties. Because usually Seijuurou doesn’t take these kinds of things into his own hands. He tries not to flounder for words. “Ah, hello? This is Mikoshiba Seijuurou – Matsuoka’s swim captain?”

The voice takes a turn for inquisitive, “Oh really? Yes?”

And Seijuurou clears his throat again, takes a glance at Matsuoka’s file again to make sure he’s dialed the right number, and dives right in. “So about Matsuoka…”

 

+++

 

He is not the one to make the coffee date – Seijuurou is not so manipulative and self-centered as to make a house call about himself, about getting a date. It’s also not that kind of date. What happens is the girl – who he assumed maybe was Matsuoka’s cousin or young aunt – turns out to be his little sister, and everything about Matsuoka’s worsening skin condition is news to her.

“Let’s meet and talk about this,” she says, almost whispering for some reason that is maybe none of Seijuurou’s business. And then she gives him a time and place and her cellphone number. Kou, she says her name is.

Kou is very cute in person, it turns out. Extremely cute. Ridiculously cute.

And also very blunt; she cuts through his attempts at small talk (though he manages to get out of her that she manages her school’s swim team before she does) and gets right to the point. “When did this skin thing start on my brother? And how bad is it?”

“Maybe we should get our teams together – ” Seijuurou is saying before her words catch up with him. “Wait, what?”

Kou just stares, all serious and grave, at him – and intensity must be a genetic thing in their family because _geez_. “Uh,” he stutters a little. “Nitori first brought it up maybe a month and a half ago? Had been saying your brother was acting kind of off for maybe two, though.”

Kou’s eyebrows furrow and she’s focusing on every word he says. Seijuurou almost feels a little nervous. It makes him want to try and be thorough, so the details he offers up aren’t a waste of her time.

Seijuurou tries his best. This was the whole point, after all. To get to the bottom of Matsuoka’s funk. “Anyway, at first it could have just been sunburn I guess, but now he gets these huge patches where the skin looks…raw?” He doesn’t know if that’s enough, and the tentative confusion on her face tells him it’s not. Then he remembers, fumbles to pull out his phone. “Ah wait, I have a picture – ”

The picture was sent to him from Nitori’s phone, and it’s from a weekend-trip maybe two weeks back, when the team was hosted at another school for mock trials as practice. The hosting team had taken them to the beach and, after running suicide drills on the sand, they had a picnic lunch and then an off-day. Nitori had recruited them into building sand castles, and laughed at Matsuoka’s attempts to remain surly and disinterested, and yet also rise to the challenge. It had culminated into Nitori taking a picture of Seijuurou proudly showing Matsuoka his way of sculpting sand bridges, and Matsuoka loudly pointing out in all the ways his sand architecture methods were lacking while gesturing emphatically to his own castle as reference. It’s a nice and fun picture, but undoubtedly all over Matsuoka’s arms are angry-looking splotches, almost like the skin has been rubbed away. It had looked painful at the time too, but by then everyone on the team had learned it best not to point out Matsuoka’s skin.

Kou stares at the screen of his phone, shock evident on her face. “Why would he hide this from me…?” She says quietly to herself, and Seijuurou doesn’t say anything, just gives her time to process. Then she looks up at him, determination and focus back. “Please send this to me!”

Seijuurou hopes he’s not blushing, because it’s kind of inappropriate to be thinking how attractive he’s finding her intensity now, but the heat of his face tells him that his body is probably betraying him. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t listening to her, isn’t taking her completely seriously. 

“Sure,” Seijuurou says, pulls away with his phone to start attaching the photo to a text for her. “Uh, so is there some health condition that I should know about, then?”

Kou stares at him silently for a moment, regarding him carefully. “Not…a health condition.” And Seijuurou gets the feeling there’s a story there, in the pause in her words. “He’s fine to swim. Just hit him for me. For being _dumb_. I’ll handle the rest.”

There’s something reassuring about the certainty in Kou’s voice, the lilt of exasperation with her brother telling Seijuurou that it’s not serious. Shouldn’t be serious. He hits send and feels like he could maybe fall for Kou a little bit. “Okay. You handle it, then.”

She beams at him, and yeah. Yeah, in that instant he’s gone. Seijuurou falls _hard_.

 

+++

 

“Leave Matsuoka alone, for now,” Seijuurou tells Nitori, after Matsuoka gets vaguely upset at Nitori telling him not to push himself too hard.

(“Be more careful, I know you’re tired – ” “I’m not _that tired_.” Matsuoka hisses out, before diving into the water without another word.)

Nitori’s eyes track Matsuoka swimming his lap circuit with some sort of cryptic expression. “I know. He’ll be fine.” Nitori’s tone is flat, a little more disengaged that Seijuurou typically hears it. But then he suddenly perks up with some sort of bizarre-sounding amusement, and a strange look in his eyes. “Ah Captain, did you notice yesterday was a full moon?”

Seijuurou frowns at the shift in Nitori’s disposition, wants to ask, though he’s not entirely sure how (isn’t entirely sure what he’s looking at right now). But the second Nitori sees that Seijuurou is slightly unsettled, a little confused, he lets out a little quiet laugh and sobers a bit. 

“Never mind, forget it.” Nitori’s voice and expression are now both back to normal, if not a slight bit forlorn. “I just…I’m tired too.”

So Seijuurou claps him fiercely on the back, tells him firmly, “You hang in there, too.” 

He wants to say something more, _ask_ how Nitori’s doing (he never thought about it, but sharing a room with someone as high-maintenance as Matsuoka can sometimes be is probably taxing – even for someone like Nitori who seems to have endless kindness to give), but the coach is signaling for him to call out for last laps of those in the lanes and move practice out of warm-ups, so he leaves it at that. Hopes it’s enough to make Nitori realize Seijuurou’s got his back, if he needs help too.

His eyes linger on Nitori for a moment longer, but he has to keep an eye on every single member on the rest of the team too, and eventually he looks away. He’ll check back again with Nitori later after practice, Seijuurou tells himself, and really means it.

(When he does, Nitori smiles with overflowing gratefulness, and Seijuurou doesn’t what to do with that besides return the smile and clap him on the back again.)

 

///

 

Nagisa knows Makoto noticed before him, if maybe by only a little bit of a margin, that something’s up with Rei. The reason Nagisa knows Makoto knew first is because he absolutely _babies_ Rei – like way more than usual. It takes a little while before Nagisa notices why exactly it is that Makoto’s looking extra hard at the peripheries of Rei’s subconscious for things he wants and needs, and then is wordlessly taking care of those things. And it makes sense that Makoto is looking when usually he tries to be polite about going through their thoughts, because something… 

Seriously, something’s up. And Nagisa knows it’s rude to stare this closely at people’s souls, but something in Rei’s is shifting and that’s _never_ a thing that just happens easily or on its own or without side effects.

“Be _careful_ with him,” Nagisa tells Kou right before she takes Rei with her to meet up with Rin on some errand she says she needs to run with the two of them. He’s not sure why Rei has to go, but Kou’s so insistent about it that Nagisa’s racking his brain for potential werewolf treatments for exhaustion that they may be planning to employ. Rei has been wilting lately, and without knowing the exact cause Nagisa can’t really ask his sisters or dad to whip up a treatment…and Rei has been trying to keep it quiet that he’s been exhausted lately, so Nagisa won’t push. 

Nagisa also has a theory about him spending too much time in the sun lately – Rei’s family has already been worrying about it, because Rei really only just recently got to the age where sunlight is only a mild discomfort for him without the proper charms – but that wouldn’t really explain how Nagisa thinks Rei’s super senses are fading a little bit, his usual vamp-ish scent of dark magic a little weaker nowadays. If they go anymore, Nagisa’s going to insist Rei come home with him, but for now he leaves it to Kou.

“I know, I know,” she says, and it’s not irritable, it’s soft with comprehension. Nagisa immediately discards the previous thoughts of werewolf treatments, and things – _understanding_ – start to slide into place. But correlation isn’t causation, so he files away theories that include werewolf bites as an important additional factor as plausible but not a certainty.

Turns out that’s precisely what’s going on here.

“Show them your arms,” Kou tells Rin angrily when she shows up at Haru’s house that evening with him and Rei in tow. “Show them why you don’t swim with us anymore!”

Rin runs a flustered hand through his hair, looking uncomfortable. “Geez Kou…” But he does what he is told. As Rin rolls up his sleeves, Rei stands wordlessly next to him looking very upset, and Nagisa and Haru and Makoto just look on curiously. It’s less curiosity and more horror that captivates them when Rin finishes with his sleeves.

Rin’s bared arms look _horrible_ , all red and irritated, and he says sheepishly, “This isn’t too bad actually? Sometimes they look worse.”

Haru is frowning deeply and Makoto’s mouth is parted in shock, and Nagisa has a bad feeling settling in the put of his stomach. “That is a classic case of sun irritation,” Rei says, _so_ unhappily that Nagisa wants to gather him up in a hug to make him feel better. “I’ve applied some of our family charms on him to make it feel better and prevent it from getting worse.”

“B-but,” Makoto says, looking from Rei to Rin to Kou and back again. “But that’s – that’s a vampire ailment, that shouldn’t – ”

And Nagisa _gets_ it all of a sudden. “ _Oh_!” He says, because okay _okay_ , that makes everything make sense. “I get it!”

Rin growls at him, because he always assumes the worse about Nagisa’s intentions for whatever reason. “Don’t tell me you knew from the start about all this – ”

Nagisa frowns at him, completely appalled and a little annoyed. “No, I just noticed Rei’s soul has been kind of weird lately. And if you’re getting all vampire on us…” Nagisa doesn’t even have to finish where that thought is going, because now everything is so _blindingly_ obvious.

“So when you bit him – ” Haru starts to say, and the words are pretty loaded with skepticism, considering that it’s Haru.

Rin balks at him, and cuts in, “It was an accident!”

Kou throws her hands over her head. “That doesn’t matter anymore! What does is that now we know something weird happened to both of you after that happened.” And Nagisa nods in agreement – 

“So how are we going to fix whatever this?” Makoto asks tentatively.

Nagisa starts a little when he realizes they all turn at the same time to look expectantly at him. “Wh – was this the plan? That _I_ fix it?”

Makoto pats his hand softly, calmingly. “Can you at least tell us what’s going on in detail? And if can it be fixed?”

Nagisa squints a little at all of them, before turning to Rei and Rin with a sigh. “To tell you that I’d need to look at your souls – both of yours. Like _really look at them_ , is that okay?”

Rin shrugs, already used to Nagisa’s wandering eyes and lack of soul-gazing etiquette from their childhood. Rei falters for a moment, but eventually acquiesces with a slow nod of his head. “Whatever you need.”

Nagisa grins and keeps talking while shedding his human skin. “Both of you tell us all your symptoms while I’m looking. It might help.”

Rin shrugs again – Rei jumps at Nagisa shrinking down all of a sudden (and oh yeah, he’s never seen Nagisa like this before, four-legged and furry and cat-shaped, oops) before stuttering out a quiet, “A-alright.”

Nagisa starts with Rin’s soul, since he hasn’t had countless after school club hours to glance at it recently, like with Rei.

Rin scratches at his head and hums thoughtfully before starting, “I mean, other than my skin feeling like it’s on fire when I’m in the sun…” He says this casually, and his soul is mostly fine…though tucked in there with it is a little bit of something, like a seed of something, that has the same feel as the demon Rei houses, so there’s that. “I guess sometimes I feel something that, if I had to describe it, I might call bloodlust?”

Kou makes an exasperated noise of disbelief and Rin scrambles to add, “But nothing too bad!”

“Well, that will probably get worse,” Rei points out. “If you don’t get blood, I mean.”

“Yeah,” Nagisa agrees distractedly, and little gold flecks of something catch Nagisa’s eye. He squints at them. “Hey, Rin-chan, have you been getting enchanted or something? What is this?”

Rin snorts. “What’s what? I can’t see my soul.”

Nagisa stares longer and it looks good, like some sort of charm? Something organic and nice, something tinged with good fortune. “Mmm, don’t worry about it. It’s fine. Probably good for you and your growing insatiable bloodlust. Especially come a full moon.”

“Don’t say that Nagisa!” Makoto says, like Nagisa’s being the unreasonable one here. What’s really _unreasonable_ right now is that these two have apparently felt such a need to keep their issues to themselves. The longer whatever this is lingers the worse it is, honestly, and they could have been working on a solution before now, a good two months in. _Now_ every full moon is a countdown, and fixing souls takes time.

Kou makes a thoughtful, if not strangled, noise in the back of her throat. “No, it’s true. We need to fix this fast, before it gets ugly.”

“I’ve been fine,” Rei says adamantly. “Other than being tired all the time.” And Nagisa doesn’t know how Rei even thinks that blatant lie is going to fly. Probably because they’ve been politely pretending every day that he’s actually okay and they haven’t noticed anything.

“You’re also losing some of your abilities,” Makoto adds. “Rei, I know about it. You can’t see in the dark anymore. Or fly anymore.”

(Nagisa has to force himself to not look away from Rin in stricken surprise. That’s more than he thought. That’s _worse_ than he thought.)

Rei shrinks in on himself. “I can. Just. Only a little. Just barely nowadays.”

Nagisa blinks and stops looking at Rin’s soul as he finishes with it. It’s intact other than that seed of Rei’s soul-demon, growing bigger and bigger where it’s tucked behind the wolf, too deep for the wolf to notice and strangle in its tracks. It might be able to, though, once the seed gets too big to not notice. Hopefully it’ll be able to do it before the seed blossoms into a new demon spawnling that’ll skyrocket Rin’s bloodlust. “Rin-chan, you might be fine other than those two symptoms, I think,” Nagisa says thoughtfully. “I’ll ask my dad, though. See if his tomes have more information. Now get over here Rei-chan, let me look at _you_.”

“Can this be fixed?” Haru asks as Nagisa turns to Rei (who’s _trembling_ , and Nagisa tries to comfort him with a soft touch with his paw to Rei’s knee as he kneels straight-backed in front of Nagisa).

“I don’t know,” Nagisa says, faking the flippancy of his tone as he starts staring much deeper at Rei than he has in a while – hasn’t looked this deep since he first met the other boy. What Nagisa sees makes his voice grow fainter and breathier, bravado gone as he repeats, “Oh _wow_ , I…don’t know?”

Rei’s soul is weakening, so Nagisa was right about that. The demon is, well it’s getting pushed out – by what’s probably shaping up to be a wolf. He isn’t too sure about how werewolf transformations work in detail; but the growing, volatile living presence that is strikingly different from the reassuringly stable undead presence that is the demon seems similar enough to the strange wild hotness that sets Rin and Kou’s souls apart from human souls. 

Nagisa _does_ know the basic of how vampires turn other people: they have others consume their blood and the whole seed deal happens, exactly like it’s happening in Rin – the biggest problem with _that_ is that they’ll soon have a rabid werewolf running around without the self-control needed to stop it from biting into anyone it sees for their blood. Werewolves can be controlled by pack dynamics, but bloodlust only has one fix…and even Rei, with his incredibly high restraint (something that Nagisa admires) sometimes has his moments. Rin, untrained and wolfed out, won’t stand a chance, soon enough.

“What is it?” Rei asks urgently, panicking a little at Nagisa’s prolonged silence. 

Nagisa doesn’t answer, instead thinking hard. Because what happens to vampires if their demon gets too weak? That’s what keeps them undead and gives them their powers. It’s what makes Rei heal and keeps his heart beating; what makes it not matter how much slower his pulse and respiration is than humans’; makes it so he can completely stop his already sluggish bodily functions to play ‘actually dead’. Will the wolf keep him alive after choking out the demon? He’s not technically alive in the same sense as a naturally born werewolf is though… And even a human would keep their alived-ness of being a human once they were changed…

“I don’t know,” Nagisa says finally, uncertainly. Realizing he’s still repeating himself, Nagisa re-shifts into human and looks Rei straight in the eye, trying for reassuring. “But you’re coming to my house _right now_ , and we’re going to figure out what this is and how to fix it, I _promise_.”

Rei looks horrified, and the others have fallen silent and grim at his unusual seriousness.

 

+++

 

“How’d you like my family?” Nagisa singsongs after his three sisters, dad, _and_ mom all look at Rei, just to be sure. Rin could have come along too for a second opinion, but Nagisa wasn’t going to force something Rin clearly was in no mood to do. Plus Kou had seemed to want to have a talk with him, and Rin seemed to feel a little…guilty, about this whole thing. And Nagisa sure hopes someone else _handles_ that, because he needs to get a handle on Rei’s thing ASAP, and that’s about all he has the focus for. Anyway, seriously Rin’s thing is easy: Nagisa had told one of his sisters what he saw in Rin’s soul, and she had instantly written up a list of what would be needed to nip it in the bud. 

(The materials needed are…another thing entirely, just like how the ritual needed has turned out to be a reciprocity spell that’s going to have to be pretty tied to Rei and his situation as well, but Nagisa will think about these things later.)

“I…not to be rude, but what exactly are you?” Rei asks helplessly after a moment of being lost for words, and the confusion is completely understandable. Seeing Nagisa all cat-like and then seeing half of his family dabbling completely effortlessly in witchcraft must be disjointing – even the others didn’t quite understand at first when they were children.

“Oh, my dad’s a witch and totally passed that down to his kids – even though we’re all kind of hell dwellers ‘cause my mom’s a kasha.” Nagisa says. He pulls a face at the memory of lessons in witchcraft basics they were all forced to take when they were younger. “I’m not _that_ witch-inclined, to be honest. My sisters take to the craft ridiculously well, but I take the most after mom, I guess.” He brightens, suddenly proud. “They can’t read souls as well as I can, though!”

Rei looks like he half understands and he smiles weakly. And Nagisa’s – Nagisa is trying to keep Rei’s mind off of the conclusions his family has come to (the same things Nagisa had thought, that Rei’s going to weaken until he maybe dies for real if they don’t fix this), keep Rei’s mind off of the fact that he has to go home and tell his own family about it.

Nagisa carefully takes Rei’s hand into his own, a new development in the ways Nagisa is apparently allowed to inch into Rei’s personal space. “Hey,” Nagisa murmurs, trying to be supportive. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

And Rei smiles, still a little weak – but he looks like he believes in Nagisa.

 

///

 

Nagisa finally comes to them with the final verdict a few days after whisking Rei away to his house for further examination, and along with it both bad and good news. The bad is…the entire situation. The good is that there is probably a way to fix it – with a lot of witchcraft (and probably some soul displacement methods that Nagisa’s not telling them about; Makoto wouldn’t even doubt it, but there is no way he is going to read Nagisa’s mind to find out the specifics). Makoto is just glad to hear that they can help.

“I don’t think we have a lot of time,” Nagisa admits as he hands them each a list of materials his family needs to fix this whole mess. “I thought we’d have a couple of full moons but…well, Rei is going to get worse with each passing day in between them. Rin too.” Makoto feels his worry for Rei project full force first and foremost, but Nagisa honestly is worried just as much about Rin’s rising bloodlust as well. It makes sense; Rin’s problem is a more immediate concern, though maybe not the most dire one in comparison to Rei potentially dying.

“How long do you think Rei has?” Makoto asks carefully. Haru has finished looking at his list and now is helping himself to an eyeful of Makoto’s. 

Nagisa eyes both of them carefully. “Well it’s already been over two months.” By now it’s more accurately been over three, Makoto thinks but does not say. 

“To be safe,” Nagisa says, frowning, thinking hard. “I would give us another month before it’s really dire.”

Makoto bites his lip, worried and maybe a slight bit discouraged – and then Haru’s disposition changes suddenly, his head snapping up and his eyes alit with urgency. “Nagisa.” Haru says sharply. Makoto isn’t trying to read him, but he’s definitely angry. _The lists_. Haru thinks impatiently at Makoto, so Makoto finally looks down to read his.

…Oh.

Nagisa sighs heavily. “I know – seriously, I do. They are really hard materials to get, and I’m scouring my resources but – but I need you both to use your connections too. Between the water spirits and the spirits of the mountain – ”

Makoto’s list is maybe seven or so materials, and half of them aren’t too bad, will be really easy to obtain from the mountains. Several of them however…

Haru keeps frowning, not convinced. “My list is short. It’ll take maybe a day to get them. But Makoto’s…”

Makoto shakes his head quickly, “No, it’s fine, I’ll figure it out!” Some of these things are elements of the mountain, elements that are hard to get or forge and it’s inevitable that he’s going to have to bargain with some mountain guardians and a folkgod or two. He’s not sure how he’s going to accomplish that, but he’ll work something out, somehow. No amount of worrying and feet dragging will change anything, after all.

Nagisa really does seem mournful as he looks at the two of them. “I’m sorry. There aren’t many other options.”

Haru is still pretty incensed. “Rin. Kou.” _Don’t they have resources too?_

Makoto doesn’t even have to blurt out Haru’s thoughts; Nagisa gets the message loud and clear because Haru is being direct enough with it. “They aren’t that well-connected. Their family pack’s smaller than other werewolves, and they’ve moved around a lot and…” Nagisa shrugs, almost helplessly. Makoto knows he doesn’t even have to bring up Rei’s family: vampires focus on family specific remedies and charms, materials and incantations passed down through their ancient bloodlines. If they don’t already have a material Nagisa needs, it’s against their etiquette to ask other vampires to indulge them with their family secrets and methods. Rei’s family can’t help past whatever they have at hand – and apparently even that is not of enough use to Nagisa.

Nagisa’s emotions are never hard to see without trying, or even with the shallowest of skimming, because he is so open with them. Right now however, he is reading suspiciously blank to Makoto. He is closed off, and it reads in his body language as he crosses his arms and says, “These things are just…out of the others’ realms, and our kinds are more, you know. Social.”

Haru’s frown deepens, but he doesn’t protest the claim.

What Makoto (and Haru too, obviously) understands Nagisa to mean is that their kinds, the three of them, function in larger societies. Hell dwellers maneuver through a lot of different hierarchies, pulling favors and making alliances wherever and whenever they can in order to survive: they constantly are building networks. Haru is less into that sort of thing, but the sheer size of the water supernaturals’ society in this water-dominated world means even Haru hasn’t managed to grow up without making a few connections of his own. And somehow, across all the mountain ranges, Makoto’s kind have come to share an understanding of common enough culture to be willing to listen to one another’s requests and affairs every now and again.

Nagisa bites his lip worriedly, saying apologetically, “I’ll cover as much as I can, but…” And it sends pangs through Makoto’s heart. They all are just trying their best right now.

Makoto shakes his head again, more intensely this time. “No, don’t worry. Really, it’ll be fine.”

 

+++

 

Haru is not happy, but he disappears into the ocean for a few days and comes back with his materials without further objections. Makoto is pretty sure completing his list only took a day like he predicted, and Haru only took the extra time off to calm himself down and come to terms with the whole situation.

Makoto in the meanwhile works hard at planning and preparing. He talks to his parents about the easy materials, and about ways to get the harder ones. They give him ideas on how to appease the mountain spirits, how to not get caught up in a tengu’s anger, and ways to approach the proposals to the mountain folk gods. He lets Nagisa know it’s going to take quite a few trips to get the materials, and then tries to plan his trips across only a couple of weeks. Rei has been getting noticeably weaker – his healing has slowed so much that the last time he accidentally scraped his knee getting out of the pool, it hadn’t healed even by the time practice rolled around the next day – and though Rin has been faring better ever since he’s been getting the sun protection charms, the bloodlust lingers. Makoto feels the unspoken importance of his efficiency.

“I – I can’t come see you off,” Rin chokes out thickly over the phone, the night before his first trip. Haru has been more silent than usual, and Makoto is having a hard time trying to convince Nagisa and Rei _and_ Rin that Haru isn’t actually angry at any one of them, instead is just upset at this whole set of circumstances.

(Almost ridiculous is how, even in all his reticence, Haru has voiced enough interest to Kou to have her organize a little good luck send off for him tomorrow.)

“Oh,” Makoto says, a little surprised. “Oh, that’s fine. It’s a long trip for you – ”

Rin chokes a little more on nothing. “ _No_ , Makoto, I. I’m sorry, this is all my fault.”

Makoto freezes for a moment. Then sighs a little and shakes his head, even though it can’t be seen. Emotions and thoughts are fuzzy over the phone line, but he doesn’t need to be able to hear Rin’s thoughts to be able to read the atmosphere and understand Rin’s way of thinking. “Don’t say that. Really, it’s fine – and I’m _used_ to the mountains, I won’t die.” Makoto laughs, only a little forced. “You all seem to think I’m going to _die_ , for some reason.”

He’s trying to sound lighthearted, make his tone joking. It isn’t doing much, but still. He has to try.

Rin is still breathing heavily, but at the very least he doesn’t sound like he is on the verge of crying. “Yeah, okay, but when’s the last time you hiked up the mountains?”

Makoto laughs softly. “Why do you all think I won’t be fine in my own element? A satori that can’t navigate the mountains safely? That’s absurd, so don’t _worry_.”

Rin scoffs, though it sounds too soft for it to be his usual abrasion. “It’s the _mountains_ – ah, no _we’re_ not going anywhere, I’m talking to my friend who’s going tomorrow – why do you care which mountains, we’re not going – ”

Makoto frowns, confused for a moment, before he remembers that Rin has a roommate – realizes that Rin must be addressing him. He listens and waits patiently as Rin pulls the phone away from his mouth and answers his roommate’s inquiries.

“Look,” Rin says when he’s settled the misunderstanding with his roommate and is back. “Makoto…”

And Makoto looks at his travel pack and doesn’t want anyone to worry when there’s nothing else to be done about the situation. “Rin,” Makoto says, voice low and soothing. “Really, I will be fine.”

 

+++

 

So, okay, he starts out fine. His friends and family send him off, though the twins are still half asleep and can barely keep their eyes open while they wave goodbye, and Makoto gets to the mountains in good time. He takes the hiking path most of the way up, and then slips off into the more wooded parts when it feels right.

And it’s like returning to home – his family stopped visiting the mountains so frequently when the twins were born, and that’s _fine_. But it feels good, to walk through the mountains, shifted into something less human-shaped and more like his true form, feeling the breeze on his face and the rocky soil beneath his bare feet.

When exactly things take a shift, Makoto can’t clearly remember anymore, because he’s fading in and out of consciousness after it’s all said and done. He remembers getting to the in disrepair shrine that houses the guardian of this part of the mountain, talking to said guardian and convincing them to part with what he needs from the mountain. He carefully pockets the rare material as the guardian talks about foregoing a test, foregoing testing _him_ , because Makoto is so clever and his words are so intelligent. 

And Makoto doesn’t believe for a second that he’s not going to get tested, even after managing to piece together a somewhat clever proposal – it had been good but not that good, and the guardian is obviously trying to trick him into putting his guard down. But all the same, for all that Makoto is expecting _something_ , he isn’t entirely expecting a flock of angry tengu to be set upon him in an _ambush_.

Makoto is descending the mountain and is maybe almost halfway down when they strike. And as they do, vicious attacks and unpredictable flight patterns before they repeatedly dive bomb him, Makoto realizes that he had forgotten about their vivid pride and temper, how that manifests in their power – and at any rate he’s not much of a fighter. Has never been much of one.

He tries to protect himself best he can, and Makoto doesn’t remember the blow that knocks him out…but he remembers how the pain shoots through his entire body whenever he comes to afterwards, short bursts of dazed consciousness here and there and vague surprise that he is still alive, that the tengu haven’t torn him apart yet.

One of the times he comes to, he realizes that it’s because there is someone protecting him. Someone dragging him to safety and dragging him through the underbrush – slowly and clumsily helping him down the mountain. Makoto sees the glimpse of red hair, though he’s having trouble focusing and keeping his eyes open and keeps tripping on his own feet, as whoever this is lets Makoto lean heavily against their side. And Makoto wonders if maybe it’s –

(“ _God_ , Makoto I – I’m sorry. I – I messed this all up – ugh, _shit_ the sun’s strong up here – just. Hang in there, I’m going to make this up to you, I’m not going to let anything bad happen, promise – ” Makoto hears, like an echo at the end of a tunnel, a string of too many words for him to comprehend, and he blearily groans before passing out for a long, long time.)

It’s a while before they get off the mountain, and Makoto, concussed and beat up, doesn’t remember much of anything about getting mostly dragged back home. He somehow manages to keep his prize, the thing he came for, safely tucked in his pocket throughout the whole ordeal. And that’s the most important thing, Makoto thinks.

 

+++

 

When Makoto comes to and is coherent again, Haru is by his bedside, though he is by the window, looking outside.

“How did I…?” Makoto tries to ask, to catch Haru’s attention. His voice is hoarse from disuse.

Haru spins around to look at him, eyes wide, and Makoto gets his thoughts of _I am *so* glad you’re alright_. Makoto waves a weak hand, to dismiss his worries. It doesn’t do much, but Haru sends him light skepticism and disbelief at his insistence to not worry anyone, and it makes Makoto smile a little.

Haru smiles a little too, his tiny, quirk of the corner of his mouth smile. Then he shifts his weight from one foot to another, and tilts his head slightly as something like apprehension floats briefly off of him. Makoto raises an eyebrow at it.

“Rin…saved you,” Haru says slowly, like he hasn’t figured it out either. “I’m not sure if he followed you with a plan in mind or…?”

Makoto frowns, because while that…makes sense, it just. Means some things that Makoto doesn’t really want to deal with, doesn’t entirely know _how_ to deal with – 

And from the floor next to his bed, suddenly Rin is sitting up with disheveled bedhead.

Always an open book, annoyance and panic and relief and embarrassment all flood from him, his thoughts loud and grateful even as he avoids meeting Makoto’s eyes at first. “I told you not to let me fall asleep on the floor!” Rin instantly berates at Haru from his place on the floor, trying to gather his emotions and his growing thought of _don’t cry don’t cry, you almost saw Makoto die but don’t cry_.

Haru just shrugs but he’s looking at Rin carefully, thinks privately to Makoto, _he was a mess when he showed up here at your house_. And Makoto believes it, sees the vestiges of that mess as Rin turns to Makoto and all but bellows, “And you said you were going to be fine!”

Haru shakes his head and sighs at Rin’s…everything (Rin pointedly ignores him, other than rolling his eyes), and Makoto smiles softly as he peers down into Rin’s worried eyes. “Hello Rin.”

Rin blinks rapidly, and his thoughts are disordered and all over the place, but loud and clear is him trying to keep it together, trying not to project overwhelming emotions at the weakened Makoto, trying not to apologize and fall apart over how he thinks this is all his fault.

“I’m fine,” Makoto says softly, not mentioning all what he can see in Rin’s thoughts because Rin is so easily embarrassed sometimes. “I got what I went for.” And Rin’s expression turns watery and angry, _that’s not the important thing, Makoto!_ , but Makoto looks at him somberly. Because that’s a lie, and Rin knows it. 

Rin’s mouth twists into something ugly right before he hides his face by shoving it into Makoto’s duvet right by Makoto’s leg, and just stays there, sniffling noisily.

Rin’s thoughts are crying and apologizing over and over again…and all Makoto can think is that he’s not done with the list, that Rin can’t break apart like this each time he leaves. He wants to ask about the whole ‘so you trailed me at enough distance that I didn’t pick up your thoughts, followed me up a mountain, and then saved me from death by tengu, what does that mean exactly for next time if there’s an emergency?’ but now is clearly not the time. Especially since the protocol Makoto wants to enforce is that no one else follows or goes with him next time. It angers the mountain spirits and gods who want to test him, and it puts the others in harm’s way. _No_. 

He will figure it out next time, how to evade attacks better, how to use the mountain’s twists and turns and foliage and craggy niches to keep hidden when he’s hurt, use the cover to escape off the mountainside while an oni or a kamaitachi or even another flock of tengu looking for him under orders to test his skill. Learn to use his smarts and win in a head-on-head fight, if it comes to that.

So Makoto turns to Haru, and they share a look and Makoto’s says: _you have to do something about this, you have to help me calm him down_. Haru should understand that this is not about this one singular time, it’s about how Rin’s feeling such palpable guilt about how Rei’s slowly dying and that all of their friends are trying to prevent that along with Rin slowly spiraling out of control. 

And Haru’s expression promises that he’s already working on it, already trying to figure out how to do what Makoto’s asking of him. Makoto doesn’t smile, but he is relieved: he knows he can trust and depend on the others, because he himself never offers anything less to them.

 

///

 

“I don’t think this is actually doing _anything_ ,” Rin says heatedly for the maybe the third time. He always whines during these sessions, and Haru thinks it’s just for show most of the time.

Haru just splashes water in his face, and says, “You like swimming.” Because Rin honestly should have no reason to complain.

“Not this early, I don’t,” he grumbles and Haru only rolls his eyes and doesn’t reply.

“Rei?” Haru says instead, turning to look at Rei, sitting on the edge of the pool with his feet dangling in the water. Is Rei holding up okay, Haru wants to know without asking and seeming overbearing.

Rei smiles a little at him, as if to reassure him. “I’m fine,” he says, then takes a deep breath and slips gently into the pool. “What are we doing today?”

And Rei looks so tired lately, so Haru goes easy on them, doesn’t even make them do any warm up laps. “Float on your backs. I’ll tell you when we’re done.” 

Rin notices Haru’s leniency, but doesn’t say anything other than a gentle jab at Rei: “Good thing you just learned how, huh?”

Rei scoffs a little and brushes it off easily. “I have a fast learning curve.”

Haru leads by example and starts floating on his back without further instruction. This _is_ a relaxation session after all, so while he’s the one who’s orchestrated these daily meetings and is supposed to lead them, he doesn’t really ever force them to do anything they don’t want to or can’t do. Rin mostly does what he says anyway out of some sort of sense of a challenge, while Rei does so out of respect.

“You call us out here for _your_ thing, and then you don’t even want to talk to us,” Rin says, his tone joking. He treads past Haru and splashes him in the face – payback. “Whatever, Haru.”

Haru doesn’t reply, only sighs and closes his eyes, letting the water direct his path. The sun feels warm on his face, and he relaxes out of his human form – it’s seven in the morning on a Sunday, and no one comes to their pool other than the swimming club anyway. “Talk, if you want,” Haru mumbles, partially because of the beak and mostly because today is a good day and the water is cool against his scales.

“Kappa freak,” Rin mutters, though there’s a little too much affection lingering in his words for Haru to believe the insult. “So Rei, how’s life been treating you?”

Rei’s floating form is a work in progress, something Haru knows from swim practice – and from right now by the sound alone: Rei tenses and struggles, splashing audibly every few minutes, because he hasn’t learned to completely trust the water to hold him. He’ll get there, Haru thinks to himself, recalling the memories of how impressive Rei’s leaps and bounds of improvement have been throughout the months.

“Alright. I scored highest in my class on the last physics test, so that’s something.” Rei answers lightly, if not tentatively. He is getting used to Rin, and the two of them are feeling each other out still, but with the current situation there isn’t much that can be done about how intertwined they are right now – and they’re learning to be friends. Haru isn’t sure if the two of them have talked privately about Rin’s very apparent guilt issues about accidentally setting into motion a condition that might kill Rei if untreated, but he thinks they might have. The first session, a week and a half ago, had been tense with Rin’s fraught silence and with Rei unsure how to handle it. 

And to be fair, Haru had also been uncertain about what a good course of action would be – this was more the kind of thing Makoto would have handled, but Makoto had asked Haru to do something. So Haru had: he pulled Rin aside and told him to warm up better to Rei, if he wanted to make up for his mistake in the first place. “But if you really think any of us are blaming you for this,” Haru had also said. “Then you’re being an idiot.” 

(Makoto let him know later that this had probably not been the best way to approach the issue, which Haru had figured out himself when Rin had roughly shoved him away and left the session early. It’s not that Haru had meant for his words to come off so brusque, but there is only so much beating around the bush he can handle sometimes.)

The reason Haru thinks they may have had a talk is because when Rin had gotten out of the pool and stormed away that day, Rei also quickly left, chasing after the fuming Rin – and Haru had thought it best to leave the two of them be. Seeing as the next day, Rin still came all the way out to their school at nearly the crack of dawn to swim and this time made stilted small talk here and there means that little else could have happened between the two of them after the falling out.

And on this fine Sunday morning, Rei asks Rin, “How about your life, lately?” He doesn’t even sound tentative this time around, just curious.

Rin half-laughs. “Good? I don’t even – right, so get this, my captain knows about the whole supernatural being thing because apparently my _roommate_ told him? Which, I don’t even know what to do with that – ”

Rei laughs, relaxed and sincere, while Rin recounts exactly how his captain pulled him aside to ask him if he’s really a werewolf. And Haru smiles while letting Rei’s mirth and Rin’s words wash over him.

 

+++

 

They are all trying to keep calm, because panicking won’t solve anything, but sometimes the undercurrent of urgency catches up with them.

“I’m worried,” Rei says, words muffled from behind the hands on his face. He’s shaking and – and Haru doesn’t know what to do with that. Swim club is in twenty minutes and the others are going to start showing up and the only comfort Haru ever knows to give and share is in the water. But Rei –

“I’m getting weaker all the time. I can barely _swim_ without getting exhausted nowadays.” Rei gasps out and his shoulders are trembling and he might be crying. What does Haru _do_? “And Makoto has to risk angering mountain gods to get ingredients for a spell that might not even _work_.”

And yeah, Makoto is only halfway done after a near month, keeps putting his life on the line to save Rei’s, but it’s what Makoto wants. Makoto won’t be happy unless he’s done all he can to help Rei, and no one – not even Haru – can stop him from it. Haru doesn’t know how to explain to Rei how reliable Makoto is – how reliable their entire group of friends is. He doesn’t know how to put it into words, but he can reach over and carefully place a reassuring hand on Rei’s back and keep saying, over and over again, “Don’t worry, it’ll all work out.” Haru only hopes it conveys the deeper meaning, all the things he can’t say.

Rei does some deep breathing for the next few minutes and Haru just rubs his back and offers his nonjudgmental silence. By the time club time rolls around and everyone else shows up, Nagisa pestering their teacher supervisor Ama about who knows what and Makoto promising to help Kou set up lanes while Coach Sasabe looks through their swim footage from last week, Rei’s put himself back together and Haru can feel the emergency of their situation fading to the background of their interactions once again.

 

+++

 

Rei smiles and laughs as Rin chats with him, while Rei affixes sunlight blocking charms to Rin, archaic spells and dark magic lingering on his skin. Haru isn’t the most magically-inclined being or anything, but something else lingers to Rin, something…bright and sunny. It’s been getting weaker lately though, and as it does Haru notices Rin’s eyes flash more often, his teeth bared ever so slight before he remembers to put them away.

Rin doesn’t talk about the bloodlust, because he doesn’t think he has a right to complain, but it’s getting worse – and whatever that other magic is, it’s not helping him contain it anymore. Haru has an idea where that’s from; he’s talked to Kou and gotten her input on it too and they both agree it’s probably Rin’s roommate. But it doesn’t matter, because it’s weakening and they’re running out of time.

But it’s not so bad, Haru has to tell himself. Because Rin and Rei are now friends, people who talk offhandedly and casually make jokes with one another. Because these relaxation sessions Haru’s implemented seemed to be working at fostering kinship, at keeping Rei and Rin from going insane as their bodies slowly betray them. Because Makoto is working so hard to do his part, and they all stay up and wait for his return in case he’s injured and needs to be treated. Because they all look out for each other even in this ridiculously unfavorable situation.

Nagisa brings Rei a change of clothes after their incredibly early weekday sessions, sending Rin back to his school with magic and sneaking energizing potions into Rei’s water bottle to help him get through the day (and even though Rei notices, he pretends he doesn’t). Kou keeps a notebook of statistics, of the rate of Rei’s downturn, and of methods to help him conserve energy throughout the day because it’s how she cares. Makoto smiles through his scrapes and scratches and bruises, and if he overhears any of their dark and frantic thoughts he doesn’t let on. Haru tries to project calming thoughts, an abundance of confidence and happiness around Makoto. Because it’s okay. Everything will be okay.

Haru watches his friends and gives help where he can and tells himself that there’s no way this all won’t work out.

 

///

 

Nitori is now used to the undercurrent of weariness trapped in his bones. He doesn’t know what is going on but he knows – he knows it’s big, obviously from how all the little blessings he keeps sprinkling over Rin have him spread thin. Knows it’s important.

These two, Nitori recognizes them well enough – if not from swim meets of both the past and present then from Rin’s photos and stories. Kou and Nagisa peer at him worriedly, urgently, and this too spells out how important it all is.

“Please,” Kou repeats herself, mere seconds after her first plea. “You have to help us.”

“We know what you can do,” Nagisa says, and maybe from anyone else that would sound like a threat. From him, it sounds sincere, a blatant if not airy stating of facts. “We know what you are.”

And if it weren’t these two, Nitori would have plenty of methods for escaping this conversation, misdirecting and redirecting the topic until it was firmly off him. But he _knows_ them, knows what they are too, can feel Nagisa’s magic and hellishness seeping off him in clouds, and a full moon is coming because Kou’s wolf is scratching just below the surface of her aura, ready to emerge.

“I’ve _been_ helping,” is what he says, a tired smile fixed in place, and he lets them whisk him away.

 

+++

 

“You _would_ save the most dangerous for last,” Haru mumbles in dissatisfaction as Nitori laces as much luck as he can cram on every inch of Makoto’s skin.

“Didn’t want to get myself killed and leave you all with a long to-do-list,” Makoto says, and it sounds like he’s both joking and not at the same time. Nitori doesn’t know them well enough to get what that means, but from how everyone falls quiet at that he gathers it’s not a good sign for Makoto’s optimism.

“You’re going to be fine,” Rin says fiercely.

Rei jumps in the fray too – and Nitori thinks he and Rin are kind of…similar in a lot of ways. “Please don’t say things like that, Makoto-senpai.”

Makoto shakes his head apologetically and nods at both Rei and Rin, and shares a careful glance with Haru. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be careful.”

Kou huffs under breath, “You’d better be.”

“Really, senpai please,” Rei murmurs, and Nitori notices just _how_ Rei is wasting away, his skin pale, the vitality fading from the flush of his skin and the core of his power.

“He’s going to be fine. Everyone is,” Nagisa says, voice strong and sure. It’s funny, because once upon a time Nitori would have guessed Nagisa to be pliant and fussy.

Nitori would now laugh under his breath at how wrong he would have been, his assumptions about Nagisa’s ability to stand strong and tall when at the end of all he and Kou were the ones to so blatantly, bluntly, _riskily_ directly ask him for his help. Zashiki warashi have never had the best records of responding well to being asked favors, and though his kind are more passively good than anything, the unavoidable and imminent and _painful_ failure that accompanies a zashiki warashi abruptly yanking their blessings from up under somebody is nothing to sneeze at. (Look at this situation, at the unfortunate situation wrought from absent-mindedness on Nitori’s part, that faithful day when he had been too excited to go home for the weekend to remember the full moon.) Most people tiptoe around him and his when they put the pieces together and figure out what they can do, because even though Nitori forgoes even the most harmless of mischief-making, zashiki warashi are considered too temperamental to risk incurring their ill-will.

As it is, he’s pulled too tight to make such airy carefree sounds like laughter, even as the luck won’t stick anymore onto Makoto. He tells the others, “I think I’m done.”

And Nitori knows he’s playing it fast and dangerous, as he watches the others prepare for Nagisa to transport Makoto right outside whatever sacred mountain territory he needs to trespass into to get who even knows what material to do who even knows what – Nitori’s kind doesn’t concoct, doesn’t temper with the natural and make it into new and synthetic things to suit their needs. They bend reality to work to their advantage, make things fit together in ways they might’ve in one reality or another, because that is the secret: everything is possible, in one way or another, in its most basic form, be it in this universe or one thousands of alternates over. Somewhere light bends differently and sound moves not in waves and time goes in multiple directions and maybe that is where the optimum conditions lie. That is from where Nitori coaxes out the potentials of Makoto not dying, coaxes out the way Rin’s full moons are better and calmer ordeals, coaxes realities where Rin does not give into bloodlust and devour their entire swim team into existence right in the here and now. 

It is from where Nitori tries to find someplace in the vast realities where Rei is not slowly dying and tack those blessings like band aids over his fragile and cracking soul – but Nitori is tired.

And as Nagisa transports Makoto with a crackling sound slicing the air and the sharp scent of dark magic wafting throughout the room, as Nitori tries to go above and beyond what he’s been asked to do, he oversteps and feels a sharp pain throughout his entire body. Rei is _so_ far gone and Nitori has been working tirelessly for months (because the _one time_ he left for home and got rest and didn’t work his magic, Rin _got out_ didn’t he? And now here they are). 

And.

So.

Nitori falls, almost in slow motion, as the room begins to go black. He only faintly hears the sounds of Rin being the first to notice and panic as he hits the ground, and even the sharp cry of, “Nitori!” is muffled under the weight of the pain of his overextending himself.

 

+++

 

Nitori blinks up at Nagisa’s ceiling blearily as he comes to.

“You,” Rin says angrily from where he is seated on the floor next to the bed. “Are an idiot.”

Nitori does laugh at that, albeit weakly. “Is Rei-san feeling better?” He looks over to Rin, just in time to see him go somber.

“…Yeah.” Rin breathes out heavily through just his nose, a sound of pure frustration. “ _God_ , I can’t wait till this is all over – I didn’t even realize how much of his pain he was hiding from us until he just. Lightened up. How did you – ?”

Nitori quirks a tiny half-smile. “I just. Made him luckier. Probably changed the course of his condition, slowed it down, calmed the wolf trying to fight it out with his demon – I’m not really sure.” Nitori picks idly at a snag in one of the many blankets draped over him. ”We don’t usually look that deeply into how our power works things out.”

Rin’s expression, a curious and unguarded one, says that in any other circumstances he might pursue that line of conversation. As it is, he leaves it with only, “Maybe you should. It sounds interesting.”

Nitori tries to shrug, which is a little hard to manage while laying down and swaddled in all these blankets. “So…what happened?”

Rin sighs and perches his chin on the edge of the bed. “You passed out right when Makoto left. I freaked and Kou made sure you were still alive and then she started bossing the rest of us around and got Haru to put you in Nagisa’s bed. Since Rei’s feeling better I think he’s with Nagisa, asking one of Nagisa’s sisters about what happened and how to fix you – “

“Sleep,” Nitori answers simply. “I just need to sleep. I pushed myself too hard and – honestly I usually would be able to do more for Rei-san. Right now I’m tired.”

There is a long moment of silence. In the distance Nitori can hear the sounds of living: sounds of bubbling and the occasional explosion from deep underground in the potion cellar Nagisa has offhandedly mentioned a few times, of a ringing laughter next door of one of Nagisa’s family members, of Rin right next to him breathing unevenly.

“Because of me,” Rin finally says. “Because of – everyone figured it out ages ago, even _Kou_ after being the most skeptical all those months ago. Figured it out after I thought I was wrong because I got out and bit up Rei – you. You’ve been watching out for me. This whole time. And I – I’m sorry – ”

Nitori levels him with a no-nonsense stare. “Don’t apologize. I wanted to. And honestly, you getting out…sorry about forgetting to enchant you the day it mattered. I – senpai, you’re worth protecting, you know.” Nitori has noticed from day one of their roommate arrangement that Rin tends to think otherwise. “You should try a little harder to take care of yourself, you know. _Also_ for the rest of us.”

It has not been said yet but Nitori thinks it’s implied enough, that some of his ensuring Rin’s werewolfy-ness staying under control _also_ has to do with caring about the larger student population not being terrorized just because Rin thinks going home for full moons shows that he’s being weak. 

“I mean,” Nitori says when Rin still says nothing. Maybe he’s too stunned to properly react. Maybe he’s thinking, and looking for the right words. Nitori thinks it is really important that they try and sort this mess out by talking, because Nitori knows he can’t just stay by Rin’s side and give him luck for the rest of their school careers. For the rest of Rin’s life. “I also didn’t do it _just_ for you.” 

Nitori wants to say this just in case it’s all been too subtle, though the way Rin bristles a little tells him it hasn’t. Good. But Nitori pushes onward anyway. “Senpai, you have to worry about the people your actions impact too, sometimes.”

Rin groans and buries his face in the bedding right by Nitori’s shoulder. Loose strands of his hair flutter against the skin of Nitori’s upper arm not covered by his short sleeved shirt. And really, they’re living, the lot of them. Nitori can’t think of anything more worth protecting to the point of his exhaustion. 

“I know. Shut _up_ ,” Rin demands wearily. “I’m going to pay you all back for all this shit, promise. I’m going to do better.”

And Nitori laughs again, a little stronger this time. “Of course you are.”

They’re living, the lot of them.

 

///

 

“Well that certainly was frightening,” Nagisa says lightly while stretching like a housecat, and Kou rolls her eyes and curls more into her blanket.

“Be quiet, Nagisa,” she mutters, shivering more at how the soft down feels against her bare skin than the cold of draft in this wide open room. It is much draftier than her room is, and she misses her plush carpet.

“I can’t believe we had to wait a whole other month for this nightmare to be officially over,” her brother grumbles from beside her.

“I don’t know if you should be acting like the victim here,” Rei says dryly, _joking_ , and Nagisa beams while Kou chokes a little on her laughter. He has the energy to joke again. And said joke is only funny because everything’s _fine now_ and he’s not going to just die on them one of these days, but _whatever_.

Rin splutters. “Nitori was plying you with luck all throughout the month! You felt better than you had in _ages_ while we waited!”

Rei clicks his tongue disapprovingly at Rin – surprisingly condescending for someone also naked, save for a blanket – even as his eyes glitter with amusement and betray him, “But still.”

Because this is how they bond. Kou kind of likes it that they put each other through their paces. She thinks it’s good for both of them to socialize so openly and honestly with one another. She sighs happily and wriggles her toes against the bare wood floor of Nagisa’s family’s ritual room. The hawthorn wood floor is cold against her skin.

Rin regains some of his bearings and rolls his eyes. “Whatever, Rei. _Anyway_ , Nagisa, thanks for that…Freaky Friday junk, or whatever it is you had to do.”

Nagisa sighs and flicks his tail in agitation, what Kou thinks is his version of throwing his hands up in the air in this form. “Is it a werewolf thing to be so full of useless bravado right after a full moon? I _swear_ , I know you understood exactly how that soul exorcism ritual worked, since I had to walk you through it about a hundred times.”

Rin looks about ready to retort with something rude, and Kou has half a mind to elbow him in the side, because honestly this floor is hurting her butt, and the black scorch marks left on the floor from when Nagisa essentially dragged the demon and wolf out of Rin’s and Rei’s soul respectively are freaking her out a little the longer she looks at them (she swears, she can see the outline of both the creatures, eyeholes and everything and looks like they’re screaming and it’s _creepy_ , okay).

“Can we please,” Makoto says tiredly from the doorway, interrupting any further arguing. “Just get them some clothes and some water and food and call it a night?” Kou feels a little bad, though it had been his choice to come and stay up through this full moon with the rest of them and see it all through to the end. He’s still recovering from the worst of his injuries, regardless of Nitori’s luck enchantments and Nagisa’s family spells and potions.

The very edge of Haru’s mouth twitches, which lets her know that what he’s about to say is going to be a gentle teasing. “Technically, Makoto, it’s morning.”

Makoto looks at Haru like he has been absolutely betrayed, and Kou laughs openly at his expression because it was the slightest remark, honestly. She’s heard Haru’s more biting snipes – Makoto has too, come to think of it – so it’s just…comical.

Kou thinks she would laugh at anything right now, though. After all that worrying and the whole ordeal behind them, she feels so _light_.

Behind her, her ears twitch and pick up that Nagisa is crouching by Rei and murmuring to him little questions to check that everything is back the way it’s supposed to be. “Stop looking at my soul, it makes me feel weird – ” she hears, as well as Nagisa’s persistent, “I’m checking for last traces of wolf, if it’s not all gone it’ll be back next full moon and we’d have to start from scratch if we let it regain too much strength – ” “But still – ”

She turns to her brother. Sometimes she feels Rin’s issues fell in the cracks, overshadowed by the insistent looming of Rei’s potential death. Rightfully so, at the time, but she wants to check – “Were you okay? _Are_ you okay? Feel like ripping out my throat and drinking my blood?”

He tsks, probably more aggressively than other people might, at the absurdity of her posed hypothetical scenario. “No. Not after the moon’s apex, after Nagisa did his – ” Rin pauses and shivers a little, and Kou doesn’t think it’s from the cold. “…His thing.”

Kou blinks, remembers how Nagisa struggled for a bit to handle _both_ Rin and Rei’s souls somewhere in the middle there, was almost overwhelmed, before doing some truly demonic show of power she hadn’t known him capable of. Kou shudders at how even though it happened while she was a wolf, she can recall the dangerous chill of the room perfectly clear. 

After looking shiftily over her shoulder, she leans in and whispers to Rin, “Do you ever feel like Nagisa’s parents were using us all like… Like, I don’t know, a benchmark test for his abilities? Why didn’t they help with this part, I mean?” It’s not really question, because she’s actually pretty sure that’s exactly what they did. To be fair, though, as heartless as it sounds, it implies that Nagisa’s family had a lot of faith in his ability to pull it off. And Kou already knows that’s the best kind of trustworthy to hope to get when it comes to dealing with hell dwellers (and anyone that finds hell dwellers fine enough company to _marry_ ).

Rin, understanding everything she doesn’t say, nods so emphatically that she’s suddenly reminded of being eight and him being nearly ten and them trying to quietly conspire behind their mother’s back so she didn’t hear, little harmless plans of sneaking out to the convenience store for sweets or hobbling enough change from their school supplies’ money to buy cheap toys from the general store instead of new notebooks. She sighs happily again and lets herself go, leans forward heavily and rests her head against Rin’s chest. “God, I’m glad everything worked out.”

Rin hums lightly, and then apparently can’t resist taking a shot at her in his own overprotective big brother kind of way. “Glad _you_ didn’t get caught up in anything bad after insisting to be here for this. Which was completely unnecessary.”

Kou tsks this time, just as abrasively as he had done earlier. “Excuse you, I helped too. Calmed your transformation down, didn’t I? So shut _up_.”

He probably rolls his eyes at her though she can’t see to be sure, and pats the top of Kou’s head half mockingly and half sincerely. “You first,” he returns, but it has no bite and she can tell Rin is also feeling a lot better than he has in a long, long time.

She thinks about how she needs to text Nitori – who couldn’t be here for this, couldn’t chance his good fortune magic accidentally influencing any of Nagisa’s enchantments and leading to unexpected results during the ritual – that everything’s fine. Needs to return Seijuurou’s ten plus worried emails he left her yesterday that she, at the time, couldn’t find the right words to respond with.

_Sorry for dragging you into this mess when you just wanted to head a national championship swim team your senior year_ , she thinks she might start with. _Want to go to dinner sometime as a make-up and congrats on graduating? My treat, and no weird supernatural phenomena or disasters, promise._ Yeah, Kou thinks, sleepily now that the aches of the full moon are settling in. That sounds like a good start.

In the background to her thoughts, Rin’s snarking over her head at Nagisa again and she can hear Rei laughing at the both of them. “Enough of this,” Makoto sighs out at them all. “I’m going back home, if you’re not going to get dressed soon. I mean that.” Which she and the rest of them know he doesn’t.

And Haru’s snort is so quiet that only her super-hearing picks it up. However, Haru must think something directly at Makoto, because then he is emphatically saying, “ _Brat_? Oh okay, pot, kettle, _Ha—ru_.”

This time she laughs at herself. Who is she kidding, Kou thinks, there’s no way hanging out with her isn’t going to end in weird supernatural junk.

But these weird friends and family and circumstances…when everything isn’t going to hell and back, they’re honestly the best parts about her life.

**Author's Note:**

> Final monster roundup is:
> 
> Haru - a kappa. You all already know plenty about [kappa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kappa_\(folklore\)), I’m sure. In this universe, modern day kappa (like most modern day monsters who are descendants of those who survived humans expanding their society & killing off apparent monsters) can transform into a human form that covers their ‘kappa hollow’ on their head & look more typically human. My favorite interpretation of a kappa’s true form for this story is [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hokusai_kappa.jpg), but it’s not a big deal which version you decide to imagine.
> 
> Makoto – a [satori](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satori_\(folklore\)), this mountain creature that can read minds. From most of what I’ve read (I can’t link you to more helpful descriptions because they were mostly paper handouts; finding internet sources was surprisingly hard) the basics of satori are that they are mostly harmless beyond their shouting out what you’re thinking, are easily startled, & help people who have good intentions – if you’re in the mountains with bad intentions towards the mountains, a satori might try to kill you. I’ve also read that they’ll help lost travelers in the mountains, but I don’t think it’s a very common interpretation. Most interpretations say satori are pretty passive, & mostly hide from human eyes…though in more modern (feudal) times they coexisted a little bit more openly with humans, as seen in art depicting satori huddling around campfires with humans.
> 
> Rin+Kou – werewolves. Considering the subject matter of this story & the presence of werewolves in pop culture, I doubt there is anything left I need to explain about this or link to. Though fun fact, werewolves have lengthened lifespans because they have really fast healing capabilities & two bodies/selves. If you have more specific questions about the nature of their wolf = their soul or the whole respawning a new human body after devouring your own corpse, ask away.
> 
> Nagisa - a kasha which is essentially a corpse eating demon that’s either a cat or a flying burning chariot but who knows? haha just read [this](http://hyakumonogatari.com/2012/05/09/kasha-the-corpse-eating-cat-demon/) & [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasha_\(folklore\)) to see how many different interpretations of what a kasha is & what they do & become. I’m using the cat interpretation, & saying a kasha is a kasha from birth till death, for simplicity sake. I’ve also managed to slip in an underhanded corpse eating joke or two in the story because I’m classy. Mentioned in-story is how he’s half human/witch. There’re differences in witches, wizards, & enchanters but it’s not important enough to elaborate on. Also the hawthorn wood is sort of a throwaway [faux-symbolism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_worship#Sacred_trees) [religion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Hawthorn#Notable_trees)…[joke](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crataegus#Folklore)… i.e. Nagisa’s family likes to laugh in the face of, well, potential irony, I suppose?
> 
> Rei – a vampire (also bg info I didn’t get to use – he's still obsessed with butterflies in this verse, finds them more beautiful & graceful than his bat form). UH YEAH vampires have a bat form but we never get to see that because the nature of the plot! The bat isn’t their ‘true form’ or anything, just another form that's easier to fly in. The dark magic Rin smelled when chasing after Rei was Rei turning into a bat & flying off to get away from Rin, haha. As a naturally born vampire, Rin ages very very slowly (made vampires don’t age, but when the vampire that turned them dies, they tend to either start aging themselves or die right along with them, if the death was by some sort of soul extraction method). & again, the older the vampire is, the more desensitized to sunlight they are (unless severely injured). The demon heals & reanimates vampires if they ‘die’ before their natural expiration time (as long as the death isn’t irreversibly extreme, like soul extraction or soul tampering things or anything magically tied strongly enough to the right kind of rituals)…though particular daredevils who ‘die’ too much run the risk of the demon reanimating you & then taking over your body completely in a sort of body theft comeuppance. The soul demons most of the time are essentially these passive guardians that give you advice in the back of your mind & help you heal.
> 
> Nitori – Annnnd I know you all already know too much about [zashiki warashi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zashiki_warashi). Though I did give them a sort of [reality/universe-bending flavor](http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Probability_Manipulation) in this universe.


End file.
